[CPU Cooler] Intel Core i5-2500K Overclocking [Help]

[ISleepTheDayAway]

So I posted on a forum for some Overclocking help and I was told that's tomshardware could help me. So last night I just installed a Hyper 212 CPU Cooler so I can overclock to Livestream DayZ at 720p. Someone told me he has to Overclock to 4.5Ghz, I'm not sure if I have to Overclock that much or that little. Also I have AsRock eXtreme Tuner, I was told not to Overclock with software and should BIOS.

Hardware:

Spoiler

CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271

RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231311

Graphics Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130738

Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136768

Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139030

 

[henydiah]

oc 4.5 is middle for SB .. just learn this guide ... good working

 

[envy14tpe]

OC depends on mobo quite a bit. I'm stuck at 4.4GHz cuz I went with lower end mobo.

I suggest trying different guides. I followed one and got stuck at 4.2GHz, then I gave another one a try and it improved a lot. Less voltage, less wattage, and ran faster. Not that I could notice the difference, but it is good to know I could do more at very safe temps and other values.

 

[bigcyco1]

Well i don't use the motherboard you have so it might be a little different.First off Download CPU-Z - Realtemp -Prime95 - just like any overclocking you will need to enter the bios. Depending on your motherboard I always recommend going to the Save/Exit section and select restore to Defaults just in case some settings were changed if you were adjusting things so we can start fresh.



Main BIOS Screen:


Save/Exit


One thing that I always recommend is disabling all the things you are not using such as eSata, USB 3.0 etc. After that depending on your motherboard you should have an Overclocking section so we need to go here next.


First go ahead and set your CPU Multiplier between 40 and 45. Since the Baseclock on most P67 motherboards should be 100mhz, 100mhz x 40=4ghz etc. This is the option that we will use because Sandy Bridge is very testy when it comes to adjusting the Baseclock.


Next go to VDroop and change this to without Vdroop. This will basically help reduce sagging while we run Prime95 or Linx and keep the voltage stable.


Next go to Internal PLL Voltage Override and set this to Enable- This is a very important step whenever you are using a multiplier of 40 and greater.


Next go to CPU VCore and set this to manual and then I would recommend starting at 1.300V for 4ghz and if you want 4.5 you will more than likely need about 1.325 but always remember to test in small increments in order to achieve a nice stable overclock. This may vary on your CPU whether or not you have the same identical one as someone else.


Next head over to the memory section of your BIOS and set the DIMM voltage to whatever the manufacturers specifications.


Now we need to configure some other very important features in our Bios which some are completely optional but I would highly recommend changing them for stability.


First go to EIST (Intel Speedstep Technology)and disable this feature. Basically this allows your CPU to throttle down below even the stock 3.4ghz when tasks are at a minimum so it is optional but I always disable it.


Next got to C1E Support and disable this feature. This is another power saving feature but enabling this might cause instability.


Next go to CPU C3 Support and set this to disable. I believe this is also called Sleep where the processor does not need to keep its cache coherent but maintains another state.


Next make sure you have Turbo Mode enabled. Most P67 -Z68 motherboards have this feature.



Next up, memory settings! Make sure to configure this per your memory specifications, or use the XMP function to use the built in SPD settings (if applicable)


Now you can go ahead and Save/Exit to Windows. I would definitely recommend having some Temperature software previsously installed on your system. I swear by Coretemp but there are many others out there. Make sure you keep a close eye on your temps after booting into windows.


Now that you are in windows check you clock settings with CPUZ and I recommend running a stability test such as Prime95. Another great one is LinX which is very intense. You can run it as long as you want and there are many different opinions as to how long you should run the tests to do some research online and make your decision.


That is basically it.Recommended Software Stress Testing
I use Prime95 and I have never had a problem afterwards. When using Prime95, use Custom Blend meaning, select Blend first and then press Custom. After that, change the RAM amount to 90% of available RAM.

http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft/
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?201670-LinX-A-simple-Linpack-interface

Temperature
I use RealTemp, have had no problem and it's light on resources.

http://www.techpowerup.com/realtemp/
http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/

CPU-Z is a must to monitor voltage and clock speeds as well as validate your CPU clocks.
http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html
http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html

 

[ISleepTheDayAway]

EDIT

 

[ISleepTheDayAway]

So I heard you could Overclock to 4.7 but I'll be happy with my 4.5 for the time being.
http://i.imgur.com/vCvbt.png


- http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/274672-29-overclock-settings-2500k-asrock-extreme3-gen3 - Used what constepatdyak said and it worked.

 

[bigcyco1]

Cool.

 

[ISleepTheDayAway]

Would I just need to change the multiplier to x47 to OC to 4.7GHz?

 

[bigcyco1]

Yes and you might blue screen so don't freak out if that happens lol just means you need to raise the voltage

 

[ISleepTheDayAway]

I uped it to 4.7 and Blue screened as you figured, then I bumped Vcore: OFFSET mode +0.020Volts to +0.050Volts. It booted, does it look stable? Also should I try and lower the Volts until it's at the lowest running stable? Not sure how/what Volts does. - http://i.imgur.com/8ImTe.png

 

[bigcyco1]

Stress tests don't have a specific time in which you should wait, it is merely subjective. Basically run it as long as it takes to convince you it is stable enough for your use. Some people run them for days, others for only an hour.I usually tend to go for 60-120 minutes of LinX / IBT on max mem and / or 60-120m Prime95 on Custom Blend and a few runs of a benchmarking program such as 3dmark11 or cinebench. If it passes that, it's unlikely to crash under game / fold load.

 

[ISleepTheDayAway]

Best answer selected by ISleepTheDayAway.